Glenn Highway road construction update: Headaches still coming

PALMER — With road construction season in full swing, Mat-Su residents have likely noticed the ongoing construction preparation along the Glenn Highway between downtown Palmer and the Alaska State Fairgrounds.

That long-term project will eventually widen the road to four lanes to ease congestion into and out of Palmer while increasing safety on the narrow, busy road, state transportation officials have said.

But before that widening is completed, area residents will have to put up with the headache of major road construction. And it’s not going to be over any time soon, said Shannon McCarthy, an Alaska Department of Transportation spokesperson.

The first phase of the highway upgrade, which reconfigured the road where it splits with the Parks Highway, was completed in 2016.

The next phase will widen the highway from South Inner Springer Loop, just north of the fairgrounds, to West Arctic Avenue, while also adding frontage roads and better pedestrian access. And although residents have likely long noticed boarded up buildings on land claimed by the state under right of way rules or purchased from the owners, the actual road construction won’t happen until next year.

Starting in early August, crews this year will focus on relocating a parade of utilities to make room for the road. Although that will likely result in some flaggers and delays on side roads, it shouldn’t have a big impact on the Glenn Highway itself, she said.

Early 2019 is when the real road construction will start. Residents can expect extensive delays, flaggers and pilot cars as lanes, medians and frontage roads are added on the extensive, $36.6 million project.

“We want them driving on that before snow flies in 2019,” she said.

Then, in 2020, the final pavement will be laid and road stripping will be completed, McCarthy said.

That final stage of the project will mirror the construction currently taking place in Palmer on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, she said. Crews there are putting the finishing touches on a widening project started last year.

In the meantime, residents can still expect work to start soon on the intersection of Palmer-Wasilla Highway and the Glenn. That section, which is currently riddled by asphalt patching and faded crosswalk and other markings, will be repaved and repainted. Construction there should be completed by late summer.